Friday, November 19, 2010

Happy Birthday, Aubrey!

It is hard to believe that my beautiful baby girl is TWO YEARS OLD! Where did the time go? I am turning into such a maternal cliche', I actually cried last night over her birthday. Aubrey is probably my last baby, though, so it is bittersweet to say farewell to the baby phase.

Two years ago today, I was at Medical Center of Plano, laboring away and exhausted. 23 hours of natural labor and I had made very little progress, so I finally decided to get an epidural, and 30 minutes later, my baby girl arrived. Her birth, with everyone rushing to catch up with this little diva who decided to do everything on her own terms, has prepared me well for her toddler years. It seems Aubrey has very particular ideas about the way things should be done, and always has me rushing to keep up with her!

So, who is Aubrey today? She is a child who walks dances to the beat of her own drum. She oozes personality, always making silly faces or giving people cross looks or lighting up with open-mouthed awe and excitement. At two, she is already speaking in complete sentences and attracts the stares of lots of strangers who see this tiny, petite little thing run up and speak to me clearly. She is cuddly and sweet and loves to be held. Her favorite TV show is Yo Gabba Gabba, which she loves so much that she knows the words to every song and sings them at random throughout the day. She is still very attached to her thumb, sucking it at night while she sleeps and when she's tired or sad during the day. Her blanket, a.k.a. "Bee-tah" must go everywhere we go. She has one particular corner that she has to hold in her hand while she sucks her thumb at night. I call her my little Linus, dragging her blanket around behind her. She generally leaves her blanket behind to play and run around throughout the day, but if she falls or gets hurt or is sad, Bee-tah is called in for a cuddle.

Aubrey is my artsy child. She loves to color and paint and will "decorate" any piece of paper in reach if she can get her hands on a pencil or crayon--Aiden's homework, bills, my moving claim forms that I have to turn into the Army. Aubrey loves music and dancing and loves to sing--when I sing to her at bedtime, instead of settling in for sleep, she loudly sings with me. Her favorite songs right now: "Wheels on the Bus" and "Keep Trying" (from YGG). Every night before bedtime, she digs through her musical instruments and grabs a drum or cymbals and begins pounding away, singing "Shakey booty! Shakey booty!" and dancing. Aubrey also loves theater--I took her to see a musical production of Cinderella and she was positively enraptured--she didn't move the entire hour and a half except to lean sideways when the person in front of us got in her line of sight.

Aubrey is such a smarty-pants. She loves books and will bring them to me throughout the day to read. Her current favorite: "Run, Turkey, Run!" about a Thanksgiving turkey that escapes, which she can "read" on her own--she knows the entire thing by memory. She knows her colors, can count to 20 in English and 10 in Spanish, and can sing her ABC's. And I am positively amazed by her vocabulary--she can talk about all kinds of things.

She is also very determined--I am writing this on my laptop, sitting on the couch next to her while she watches Yo Gabba Gabba. A moment ago, she pushed my hands off the keys, closed the lid, and looked straight into my eyes to tell me "Juice, please!" And twice now, she has sat on my lap for a cuddle while I am typing (so you'll know why if this post is a little all over the place).

So that's my baby girl in a nutshell. She is such a sweet girl and is in such a lovely phase right now, I wish I could just seal her in a jar and keep her this way forever. I love this little imp, who is into everything, you laughs and shrieks with joy when she's being mischievous, who cuddles me and kisses me and greets me with a smiling "Good morning, mommy! You sleep good? Change diaper!" every morning. I love her smooth, baby cheeks, her tiny, chubby feet, her crazy hair, her soft little voice, her shrieking laugh. I know that time must march on, and I look forward to seeing the young woman she will grow into, but I can't help but wish I could store away some of this sweet baby goodness and hang onto this magical part of her life forever.

I love you, pumpkin. Happy Birthday, baby girl!

**As you can see, we're in our "refuse to look anywhere near mom when she has the camera out" phase. :)

1 comment:

Want to hear more about the Pack?

Check out A Belly in Bloom, a page devoted to Angela's pregnancy with Aubrey. You can see belly pics, sonograms, and learn more about how Aubrey (formerly known as "The Bean") came to be the lovely little girl she is! You can also find Angela's favorite recipes and newest food experiments at Cooking with the Parker Pack.